MLB

Tonight is a very important game for the Mets. They have won three of their last four games and they are looking to continue to build momentum.

Livan Hernandez, whose job is anything but secure, will take the hill for the Mets, while Ricky Nolasko will be taking the hill for the Fish. If Hernandez puts up a similar outing to his last one, many people will call for the promotion of Tim Redding, who has hit as high as 93 MPH with his fastball during his rehab assignment.

The St Louis Cardinals have had a quick start to the season and are set to dominate the division again.

The Cardinals have always made this division theirs and only had the Astros as any real competition before the Chicago Cubs decided to throw a ton of money to players outside their organization.

The Cardinals have been hit by injuries for the past couple of years, which allowed the Cubs to reign supreme in the National League Central. Well I got bad news for you Cub fans. The Cardinals are back and ready for a huge 100-win season.

At this time last April, the Rangers were seven games back of first place in the AL West. They were in a slide that would take them all the way down to a 7-19 record.

Then something happened.

They had one of the best Mays a Texas Ranger team has ever had. They went 18-10 and were six games above .500, their high water mark for the season. It turned out to be a winning summer, but the Rangers could not dig themselves out of an early hole.

The emergence of a new Jedi.

From the small stage in Indiana, to the spotlight in Boston, Justin Masterson proves the force is strong within him.

Justin Masterson is a "righty killer" from the island of Jamaica. Growing up a devout Christan and the son of a youth minister, Masterson developed in to one of the best young arms in America.

He is a big 6'6", 250-pound pitcher with a three-fifths arm slot and slinging delivery. His weaponry includes a slider and changeup but the sinker Masterson throws—it's deadly. His teammates call him, "Jedi."

Here are the notes and lineups for tonight's game:

- In the last two games, the Yanks have one walk and 17 strikeouts.

- Robinson Cano is up to .380 and has a 14-game hitting streak.

- Nick Swisher is struggling, going 6 for his last 35, and has two RBI in that time.

- Hideki Matsui has a seven-game hitting streak and is 11 of his last 27.

- The Yankees have scored three runs in the last 19 innings.

- The Yanks are 32-39 in April over the last three seasons.

April
28
This from Hal Steinbrenner via the Yankees:

1. Boston Red Sox (13-6): The Red Sox have won 11 straight games and finally look like the team many expected, including a sweep of the Yankees.

2. St. Louis Cardinals (14-6): The Cardinals continue to play solid baseball and lead the division by two and a half games over the Pirates. They've definitely owned the Cubs so far this season.

Call me irrational. Call me a quitter. Call me a typical "the sky is falling" Cubs' fan. I don't care.

After 18 games of mostly lousy baseball, I'm done. I can't stand watching this team. Every time I turn them on, I get sick to my stomach. I should have known better too.

Behind every MLB contender, there's a dirty little secret.

Keep winning, and nobody pays any attention to it. The Red Sox, for instance, have been on such a tear lately that nobody's asking why David Ortiz (.237 average, .287 on-base percentage, .342 slugging) looks so washed-up.

The Dodgers have hummed along so nicely that no one's sounded the alarm on how the back end of the starting rotation is a disaster in progress (Clayton Kershaw's last two starts: Nine innings, 18 hits, six walks, 15 earned runs).

Late April on the Major League Baseball front is the time when teams, successful or not, begin to fine-tune their lineups.

So, here's a few modest proposals for Major League teams to consider.

Cincinnati Reds

Take Micah Owings off the mound and install him as an everyday player.

Holy Babe Ruth, the kid can crush the ball.

In 126 Major League at-bats, Owings is hitting .325 with 19 extra-base hits and 23 RBI.